ANTHRO 212: Ethnographic Film and Photography

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THE FULL COURSE OUTLINE IS AVAILABLE UNDER MODULES

ANTHRO 212:  Ethnographic Film and Photography

SEMESTER TWO, 2019

15 points

 PLEASE NOTE: A VERSION OF THIS COURSE WAS PREVIOUSLY OFFERED AS ANTHRO 320


Course Convenor

Dr Mark Busse - m.busse@auckland.ac.nz

 

Class Representative:

Lauren Calvert - lcal035@aucklanduni.ac.nz

 

Course Delivery Format

2 x 2-hour lectures per week

(Timetable and room details can be viewed on Student Services Online)

 

Course Description      

In this course we will explore the uses of photography and film in the production and dissemination of anthropological knowledge. Anthropologists have been using photography and film for more than a century both to create more-or-less permanent records of people, objects, and events, and to communicate anthropological ideas to professional audiences and the general public. Part of the power of photography and film lies in their apparent realism, in their seemingly close relationship to reality. But the relationships between the material world and images on film have been the subject of debates in philosophy, art theory, and the social sciences, and these debates will inform our examination of the use of photography and film as research techniques and forms of communication.

In looking at photographs and films, it is critical to recognise that choices are made at all stages in the production of such images. These choices constitute a process of representation, and representation in this sense of the word will be a key concept in this course even as it has become a critical concern in anthropology as a whole during the last forty years. The choices that visual anthropologists make in their selection of subject matter, imagined audience, composition, construction of a narrative (or not), and mode of representation are acts of authorship. A goal of this course will be to increase your awareness of the authorship of anthropological images, i.e. to increase your awareness of the inten­tions, choices, and perspectives of photographers and film makers which contribute to the creation of ethnographic images.

Representation is critical in both visual and textual anthropology, and an important aim of this course will be to use the exploration of visual anthropology to reflect back onto representation in anthro­pology more generally. Anthropologists have been particularly concerned with the politics of repre­sentation, i.e. with the realisation that what is represented and how it is represented are political acts connected to questions of ethnographic authority and relations of power between the ethnographer and his or her subjects as well as between the ethnographer and her or his audience.

 

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of the course, students are expected to:

  • understand the use of photography and film in the production and dissemination of anthropological knowledge;
  • be able to identify modes of representation in ethnographic film making;
  • understand the choices involved in making anthropological photographs and films;
  • understand the political dimensions of ethnographic representation; and
  • understand the relevance of visual anthropology to broader contemporary theoretical debates in anthropology.

 

Reading

Required and suggested readings for the course will be provided in the course outline. All readings (required and suggested) will be available either on line through Canvas (under "Reading Lists") or, in the case of books, in the Short Loan Collection at the General Library.

 

Assessment Summary

10%     Class Participation

20%     Film Review                Due Friday, 16 August

40%     Research Essay         Due Friday, 4 October

30%     Take Home Test          Due Friday, 8 November

 

 

Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course. This includes time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.

Course summary:

Date Details Due